Budgeting Part 2

Budgeting for the first time brings awareness and hope, along with struggles and adjustments. I love how money can be described as "financial bondage." I can tell, budgeting is one step into letting loose of those chains.

2 weeks after budgeting, I sat down and wrote everything out. What came in, and what went out. I noticed that with one particular credit card, I was spending more than I was putting back on. Which in effect, created credit card debt over the years. In 2 weeks I spent 370.00 more than I paid back.

This is good because now, I am aware.
Conquering the credit cards is good. We have TALKED about how we would like to pay off credit cards by the end of the year, but in all reality, it would take alot of work. So, I broke down the balances and divided it by 12/months. It gave me a ballpark figure of what would be coming out of every paycheck for the next year. It was painful..

Again, this is good because now, I am aware.

My groceries. I spent 235.00 in 2 weeks. Not too bad, only 35.00 off of my budget. My house does feel bare and I don't like the feeling that we are out of food. Before when it got like this, I would just run to the store and buy something healthy, fresh, and filling. This is really hard for me. I didn't think it would be this hard, but it is.. I'm hoping couponing and better meal planning this next week will help to eat healthy in a budget.

Understanding my utilities and daily expenses. Money that is always the same, month to month. It is amazing how much of the income goes toward living. Things that are needs (electricity), and things that are wants (cable tv, cell phones).

Just like in any new goal, you have parts where you get discouraged and don't WANT to follow the plan at hand. I have hope for the next 2 weeks, that we can continue to focus on financial goals and see at the end of the month, how the outlook for 2010 is.